The Story of a Life Part 8

Oliver Carr had no intention of going to test the hospitality of a stranger, and, when he gave Mr. Murby his card, he supposed the incident closed. On the eighth day out the ship touched at Queenstown. Mr. and Mrs. Carr--we must no longer call them "Oliver" and "Mattie,"--took a ride on a Jaunting Car--in which one sits sidewise, while one's driver sparkles with Irish wit. A woman came to sell them fruit, and offered to toss pennies for the difference between what she wanted and they were willing to give. It was a jolly crowd that surrounded them, and every Irishman had a funny tale to tell the travelers. Before the ground ceased its semblance of rocking to and fro, they were again on board.

When they landed in Liverpool, everything seemed new and strange. They "found cabs instead of busses;" but doubtless the difference was most marked because they found Englishmen instead of Americans. At the hotel they were visited by G. Y. Tickle and other members of the church, and in the afternoon they crossed to Berkinhead to visit other Christians.

On April 29th the train pulled out at 9 a. m. for London. Mrs. Carr took a few notes, as she looked upon Mrs. Browning's world--the world of "Aurora Leigh."

"Corn--undulating lands--rural improvements--daisies and primroses.

Hedges--winding roads, and footpaths. Drains in the lowlands. Winding brooks and brooklets, through daisied meadows. Fir-clad hills."

Out of this primrose England, the car glides into the smoke and fog of London. London at last--how far away from the Lancaster and Stanford of one's girlhood! How far, indeed, even from the dreams of one's girlhood, this city that rises up, solidly real before the young woman's eyes! It seems pulsing with the thoughts of those who represent, to her mind, the highest peaks of literature; d.i.c.kens and Thackeray, George Eliot and Robert Browning, Bulwer Lytton and Macaulay and Carlyle and De Quincy--all are living; one might meet them any moment on Oxford or Regent streets, where "I took a promenade," she says; "I find they surpa.s.s Broadway in all but dress."

At 2:30, they are installed at the hotel; at three, they take luncheon and at four they have a visitor. It is the brother of the Chicago merchant. The merchant has written about the missionaries, and asked that they be looked up--doubtless, suspecting that the overtures must come from the English side. So this brother has come, a Mr. Murby of some distinction; for does he not edit the music department of the _Cornhill Magazine_?

He insists on the young bridal pair going to his own home; for O. A.

Carr, in honor of the honeymoon, has selected a hotel of much pretention. "You must go with me," says Mr. Murby. "It is too expensive, staying at a hotel like this; you shall make your home in my house. My wife will take no refusal. She will entertain you as well as she can--we have one baby in the cradle, and another three years old. I've brought the wagon for the trunks."

All this from a man and woman one has never seen before, and never heard of, except from a chance fellow-pa.s.senger; a man and a woman who do not belong to one's church and has never heard of one's friends! But, after all, is it so strange? If one travels through the world with eyes open for primroses, and finds them growing along the wayside, why should not eyes that seek brotherly kindness, find it blooming in many a stranger's heart?

Away go the trunks, and the hotel knows our friends no more. Two weeks are to be spent in England, before sailing for the opposite side of the globe; and while they are in England, Mrs. Murby leaves the baby in the cradle, and acts as guide for the Americans. In their hurried visit, they could have seen little without her. She takes them to ride in the underground railroad, shows them the wonders of the waxworks, at the entrance of which stands George Washington with extended hand, and lingers with them in the British Museum.

Mrs. Carr's notes of her travels are meager in the extreme; she was too busy observing and studying, to write about what she saw; but the necessary enlargement of thought resulting from extended travel was to take its own part in developing her personality. "Chelsea Hospital for old soldiers--Buckingham Palace, the Queen's residence--Eaton Square--National school teachers trained for public schools--Duke of York's school--Geological exhibit--rock crystal--wood carving--Porcelain plate, 1585, Francesco de Medici--Venetian wine gla.s.s--Danish drinking-horn--Paul preaching at Athens--Christ changing the water into wine--Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate--Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode--Mrs. Siddons as Actress--Rosa Bonheur--Edwin Landseer--Hyde Park--House where the Duke of Wellington died--Parliament--Retiring Room--Her Majesty with Mercy and Justice in sculpture--Portrait of Kings and Queens--House of Lords--Throne--Queen's chair on the right--Prince of Wales on the left--The Prince Consort--Woolsack, seat for Lord Chancellor in front of Queen--Table on which are laid all pet.i.tions--books beneath--just behind the table, the bar--gallery for peeresses, above--Peers' Robing Room--Moses descending from the Mount--Lobby--Embarking of Pilgrim Fathers--Charles erecting Standard at Nottingham--Central Hall--Four windows--Lobby--Pictures--Square Hall--Commons Speaker's Chair--gallery--Each side of entrance, seats for liberals and tourists--St. Stephen's--Marble walls and floors--On each side, six stained gla.s.s windows, representing scenes in life of Stephen--On the Thames--Somerset House--Waterloo Bridge."

Thus we might follow her from spot to spot, as she hastily jots down the names of pictures, and of the ill.u.s.trious dead, amidst a catalogue of wonders seen at the Crystal Palace, the India Museum, the National Gallery. "St. Paul--Whispering Gallery--Sculptor above--Scenes in the Life of Paul--Monument of Sir John Howard, Joshua Reynolds--geometrical stairway--Crypt--Newgate Prison for all offenders within the city's limits--Christ's Hospital, founded by Edward VI.--Boys' dress in the costume of that day--Yellow stockings, leather breeches--Former palace of Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey--Post Office; just across the street, Returned Letter Office--Clock with two bells, one 'Time,' the other 'Death'--Publishing House belonging to the Religious Tract Society, built over the place where the martyrs suffered under b.l.o.o.d.y Mary--Guild Hall--for public dinners--Grand dinner given to the Sultan--gold array--The Lord Mayor conducts trials--His Residence--Monument to Nelson.

"May 5th, the Tower--Gateway--Entrance, moats--Bell Tower--b.l.o.o.d.y Tower, porte cullis--White Tower, 15 feet thick--Built, time William the Conqueror--Norman spear used by him--Dress of 1665--Gun taken by French at Malta and afterwards recaptured by English--Sir Walter Raleigh imprisoned 12 years--Lady Jane Grey--Queen Elizabeth on Horseback--Fire, 1841--Indian armor, 1750--Chamber from which Hastings was ordered to execution--Anne Boleyn's prison in the Tower--Beauchamp Tower." And so on, and on, from one spot of historic interest to another, the travelers absorbing all with thirsty minds, the hostess tireless, or at least uncomplaining--and at night the profound sleep of the sight-seer's utter exhaustion.

Mr. and Mrs. Murby took the stranger-guests to their hearts, and treated them like long-lost friends. The perfume of their gracious hospitality invested London with a tender aroma for these wanderers, to such a degree that whenever they afterward thought of England, they thought of disinterested kindliness. On one of Mrs. Carr's diary-pages, is to be seen a faint brownish stain, above which is written: "Found by Mrs.

Murby on the streets of London--this primrose." The flower has long since slipped away and crumbled to dust, since it was placed there in the spring of 1868; I should like to think that it blooms again on my page, in honor of that quick and loving eye that discovered the primrose in the London streets, and the gold in the strangers' hearts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Conway Castle, N. Wales]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Beaumaris Castle, N. Wales]

On Sunday, they went to hear Spurgeon preach. It was a very ordinary sermon; his statements had been made thousands of times before, and to none who listened, were they new. His manner was untheatrical, his flow of eloquence was not intense. Everything was the essence of simplicity.

He began by holding up a rose. He said that on his way to the tabernacle, a woman had given it to him. He spoke of his happiness caused by this simple gift, then of the beauty of flowers, and of giving; and, as the audience of 3,000 listened, they were melted to tears. His subject was the Accessibility of Christ. It was the _tenderness_ in his words and voice that wrought the charm. The singing was general; it seemed that each of the 3,000 took upon himself the responsibility of carrying the song through to its conclusion.

In Birmingham, the Carrs visited David King, editor of the _Harbinger_; he was the most prominent member of the Christian Church in England, of his day. It was his custom to question the preachers who pa.s.sed through his country, to find out if they were "sound." It was from him that Mr.

Carr discovered the British objection to the American custom of extending an invitation to the unsaved at the conclusion of the sermon.

It was also Mr. King who went to the office to buy the Carrs their tickets up to London, fearing they would not get second-cla.s.s ones.

"Only fools and n.o.blemen ride first-cla.s.s in this country," was his dictum; "the second cla.s.s is just as good and costs half as much."

The following brief notes show us that Mrs. Carr is in Scotland: "Holyrood--Rezzio's Slaughter--Residence of bygone monarchs--where Lord Murray held his Council--Residence of Mary Queen of Scots--where Her Majesty stops, when in Edinburg--Castle of Craigmillar--where Mary sometimes held her court--Lochleven Castle."

She was particularly interested in Wales: "Canarvon Castle, built by Edward I.--First Prince of Wales born here--April 25, 1284--Chamberlain Tower, occupied by the Lord Chamberlain--Eagle Tower, so called because of the Eagle Sculpture on its turret. Prisoner, or Dungeon Tower. It is supposed this castle was never completed. The banqueting hall, entirely destroyed--In this castle the present Prince and Princess of Wales were entertained during their visit to Canarvon, April 24. On this occasion, Wellington Tower was magnificently decorated.

"North Wales--across the straight of Angelsey; lodgings here. Ebb and flow of the tide--Hawthorne--a beautiful lodge, the entrance to a residence--Suspension bridge over the Menia Strait--Castle--Model village, Bethesda, near the slate quarries--20 galleries, each 60 feet high--the deeper the quarry, the better the slate--Tunnel and railways with round rails and grooved wheels, working with rope--Blasting signal, first a red flag, then the bugle. Each gallery one mile around the rail--1,200 feet from lowest gallery to top--300 men employed. Total wages per month, 1,200 pounds.--Penryln Castle, 16 years building, completed 30 years ago--Main entrance, heavy iron gate, swinging on ma.s.sive pillars of stone, with imposing ivy-clad arch above; winding roads and bypaths; through rare shrubs and gorgeous flowers of innumerable species--Main entrance to Castle yard, a ma.s.sive orchid gateway--Main entrance to Castle, ma.s.sive cross-barred iron doors in base of tower--Four towers with the ivy, beautiful emblem of trust, clinging to them all--Interior; entrance hall, billiard room, innumerable lobbies with rare ceilings, main stairway, bedrooms with antique furniture, drawing-room, dining and breakfast rooms, library, chapel for family worship, minor stairways, etc.--Family of 10 children, two married and now in London--will return here in July. Culinary apartments; cook's sitting-room, where he writes the bill of fare."

All these sights, crowded as they are into a few days, delay the departure for Australia; moreover, the travelers have decided to take a sailship. They have sufficient knowledge of the deathly throb of the steamer, the quiver that sends unutterable faintness and nausea to those susceptible to seasickness. The sailship, they are told, skims the waves like a bird--one hardly knows he is afloat, or knowing, feels himself lightly carried through the air.

Mrs. Murby finds her new acquaintances have not left, and writes to Mrs.

Carr at Liverpool, on May 15th, "I was very much pleased to receive your letter yesterday; I had supposed you would be far away from Old England by this time. I just wish you had stayed with us longer! There are lots of places besides the British Museum, I could have taken you to see. You say you are to leave on Sat.u.r.day, the 19th, but the 19th is Tuesday, so we can hear from each other if we cannot meet. If I can find that church in Camden Town, for your sakes I will visit it. The few days we spent together will always be remembered by us with pleasure. I sincerely trust we may all be spared to meet again; you may rest a.s.sured of a hearty welcome. In the meantime we can correspond with each other. I went to sit for my portrait yesterday; it will be ready for me to-morrow, and I will send it to you before you leave Liverpool."

So writes the editor's wife--she who finds primroses in the streets of London; and her letter comes as a last voice of love to one about to embark upon a sea-voyage of more than a hundred days.

CHAPTER IX.

THE LONG VOYAGE.

The long voyage was made on the Oriental, Captain Myles. Mrs. Carr was the only lady who had taken first-cla.s.s pa.s.sage. There was a rich young man on board, who had been put under the care of a Scot of mature years; the young man was peculiarly susceptible to the temptation of strong drink, but the Captain rea.s.sured his sisters with the declaration that there would be no drinking aboard his vessel! The young man wished to visit Australia, one of the few countries he had never seen, and Duncan, the Scot, had undertaken his charge that he, too, might have the treat of foreign travel.

England had not faded from sight before the corks were flying.

Mrs. Carr found herself a.s.sociated with a cla.s.s of men who were far from corresponding to the degree of their tickets. She felt the need of woman's society, since her husband was the only man present who possessed that refinement and moral instinct which had been the breath of her life. She was unable to hide her disapproval of the drunken orgies which the officers of the crew shared, and it was particularly distressing to her to witness the deliberate ensnarement of the rich young man, the evident scheme to make him drink that he might be fleeced at the card-game.

She and her husband put their sentiments into words of remonstrance, which resulted in the Captain's making slighting remarks, as they sat at table. He took a spiteful pleasure in boasting in their presence that he wouldn't employ a "teetotaler on his ship."

The first Sunday out Mr. Carr was asked to conduct the religious services. He read the First Psalm and made remarks relative to the G.o.dly and unG.o.dly. Captain Myles was enraged. "I supposed we would have the Church of England Service," he said at the conclusion; "we will have it after this; I will read it, myself." And so he did, when he was not too drunk; in that case, he had the ship's physician read it.

Mrs. Carr sought relief in the a.s.sociation of the other women on board, but this was peremptorily stopped. "If she wants to keep company with second-cla.s.s people," said the Captain with a sneer, "let her buy a second-cla.s.s ticket."

The ship had not been many days from the British Isles before the crew was almost completely demoralized. Drinking, gaming, coa.r.s.e songs marked the hours of the night. The sailors were at the mercy of the winds. The vessel drifted over to the coast of Africa. It was becalmed two weeks under the intolerable heat of the sun's vertical rays, while not a breath of air came to relieve the hot glare of the Equator.

One day the Captain exclaimed with the air of one who has made a terrible decision, "If we don't get wind to-morrow, I will jump overboard!" The morrow came, and there was no wind. Of course the threat of the Captain resulted in nothing more dangerous than a cooling bath in the peaceful waters, but the effect of his words, and of his sudden leap from the deck, were hard upon sensitive nerves.

Mrs. Carr being denied the companionship of women, found what relief from the monotony she might, in writing letters, and especially in writing in her commonplace-book many quotations from the poets. She beguiled the time, also, in composing poetry which deals rather with themes of home, than with those of distant scenes. The ship was wafted toward South Africa, but it did not weigh anchor. "The only view we had of South Africa consisted of some monkeys in the trees." When the Cape Verde Islands were sighted, Captain Myles was anxious to exhibit his skill by pa.s.sing within a stone's throw of one on either side. Mrs.

Carr, rejoicing at the sight of something more human and picturesque than monkeys in trees, took extensive notes:

"June 18. The Captain caught a large dolphin--change of color in dying.

Breakfasted on flying fish.

"June 19. Sighted Antonio and St. Vincent islands--pa.s.sing between them.

Cape de Verde Islands, possessions of Portugese. Antonio with its innumerable rocky points, some losing themselves far above the clouds.

The white haze peeping behind, lights up the acute angles of the points--the heights are dark, frowning and barren, with white bowlders at the feet. The gray terraces in the distance look like leaping waters, rushing onward to the ocean, to kiss the breakers. The sh.o.r.es are dotted with little villages whose houses are small and white, with red tiled roofs. Around these villages are spreading greens along the sh.o.r.e, and extending up the heights that, through the gla.s.s, are seemingly inaccessible. Yet these heights are laid out, far up, with hedges into green fields and waving orchards. The sh.o.r.e is indented with innumerable little bays, and the magnificent ravines to which they point, fill the soul with awe.

"St. Vincent is inhabited by the Portugese, yet there is not a spring, or well of fresh water, or a blade of gra.s.s in the whole island. There are the signs, far up the island, of the washing of the waves. What a glorious sight they would present in a storm! Here and there, far up the heights are solitary rocks and vast strata left bare by the washing of rains and waves, and blackened by the elements. Signals are hoisted opposite Porte Grande in order that the Oriental may be reported in Liverpool in 12 days. Two sailing ships are in the harbor. The Oriental pa.s.sed between St. Vincent and Sh.e.l.l Island."

One day the discovery was made that there was a stowaway on board; it was a young man with a crippled arm, who had slipped into a hiding-place as the Oriental lay at the Liverpool dock. Captain Myles was all the more furious because he found himself helpless to rid himself of the unfortunate youth. He compelled the stowaway to do the meanest labor, and the hardest his crippled state would allow. When the sailors encountered him, they greeted him with oaths, if they greeted him at all. He was set to scour the decks, and it was a task that had no ending.

The Oriental drifted at last into the arms of the Trade Winds which sent it whirling around the Cape of Good Hope. A furious storm came on. The sea was lashed into mountain-peaks and was hurled in rushing torrents over the decks. Those sailors who were obliged to remain above, walked waist-deep in water. The man at the wheel was tied to his post--the Captain was up all night; but not, now, at cards and drink. The rumor spread among the pa.s.sengers that the crew expressed their doubts of weathering the gale. The rumor was founded upon truth; the outcome was extremely doubtful. There was the usual scene preceding a probable capsizing; curses and prayers, the sudden scream of agonized fear, or of desperate appeal. "But we committed ourselves to the care of the All-wise and Almighty, and went to sleep."

Morning came to show under its dim light a battered ship, doors broken open, cabins inundated from the seas that had poured down the hatchways, and spars swept away. But suddenly the ocean grew calm, the wind became fair, and the vessel headed straight for Australia.

They were at table when the cry arose above, "Man overboard!" Captain Myers started up with an oath and went growling and storming to see into the matter. It was the stowaway, who had been cast dizzily from the life-boat he was trying to paint by a sudden lurch of the vessel. The Captain himself threw him a life-preserver and shouted, "Stop for him, he's too crippled to swim to it. Ship about! Man the life-boat!" In that boat brave sailors went down out of sight in the angry sea, then like a bird sat on the crest. Our ship "across sea" rolled fearfully and the Captain commanded the pa.s.sengers to leave the deck. The sailors in the boat returned, but the poor crippled boy could not be found. And so the fair wind bore them on their way and the youth who had come from the unknown into our story, dropped back again into the unknown. Was there any one to care?[7]

One hundred and four days on the deep, during which period, land had been sighted only three times. Mrs. Carr continued to remember, and to write poetry. We find this, "Written on board the Oriental, South Atlantic, August, 1868:

Homeland, dearest, gentle homeland, Dearest now art thou to me-- Dearest, for between us stretches, Dark and grim, the cruel sea.